Both men were buried in dirt and rocks from the waist down, with a large tree with dense branches lying above their heads.

Cui Ci wanted to have the tree moved away, but he discovered that a branch of the tree, two fingers thick, had pierced Xue Shu's back, and the blood had stained that branch dark red. The blood around the wound had turned black and red.

He didn't know how deep the branch had gone in, so he didn't dare to move. He could only ask someone to find a knife to cut off the branch, while someone else cleared the soil and rocks underneath.

Fortunately, it had been raining for the past three days, and the soil and rocks had not yet been compacted, so it was relatively easy to clean up.

After the branches were cut and the big tree above was moved away, everyone carefully prepared to lift the person up.

Yin Chengyu had not seen the light for a long time, and he was afraid that the strong light outside would hurt his eyes, so he had covered his eyes with a black cloth. Cui Ci originally wanted to send him up first, but under Yin Chengyu's insistence, the group could only send Xue Shu up first. However, Xue Shu's arms tightly held Yin Chengyu, and the people who were moving him did not dare to pry him apart, so they had to stop again in embarrassment and ask Yin Chengyu for instructions.

Yin Chengyu patted Xue Shu's arm, leaned close to his ear and whispered, "It's safe now, let me go first."

Xue Shu didn't know whether he heard it or not, but when Yin Chengyu tried to pull his hand again, he let go of his arm.

The others then carefully lifted him up, placed him on a stretcher, and sent him to a makeshift tent for treatment.

Yin Chengyu was sent out one step later. He was cut on the right side of his waist by a sharp stone, but fortunately the wound was not deep and was bandaged. Although he was weak, he was still conscious.

When he was sent to the camp, he suddenly thought of something, called Cui Ci over, and instructed him: "Go and follow Xue Shu. If there is a need for personal service, you must do it yourself and don't let others get close."

Although Cui Ci didn't understand the reason, he still agreed and followed Xue Shu.

When Yin Chengyu woke up, it was already the next day.

The rain outside had not stopped yet, as if to make up for the rain that had not fallen in spring and summer. Raindrops as big as soybeans hit the top of the tent like fine drumbeats. In the past, Yin Chengyu would have found it too noisy, but now, listening to the sound of rain outside, he felt peaceful.

At least they have a chance to feel the noise of the world again.

The dirt on his body had been cleaned, and the wounds had been properly treated and bandaged. Yin Chengyu tried to move, and except for some pain in his waist and right hand, the other minor injuries were bearable.

He supported himself on his arms and slowly sat up, and his movement startled the eunuch who was serving outside.

The young eunuch walked in from behind the screen. He was a familiar face, and he seemed to be the one who usually served Xue Shu. "Your Highness, are you feeling unwell? Shall I call the doctor?"

"No need." Yin Chengyu's voice was still hoarse, and he spoke with some difficulty: "Pour me a glass of water."

The young eunuch quickly brought over some warm tea.

Yin Chengyu drank a cup of warm tea to moisten his throat, and his throat felt better. He then asked the eunuch to call Cui Ci over.

After a while, Cui Ci arrived.

Yin Chengyu had already changed his clothes, but he was still a little weak, so he leaned against the Luohan bed in the outer room. Because it had been raining continuously, the weather was damp and cold, and there was a charcoal basin at his feet.

"How is Xue Shu doing?"

"The doctor has already removed the branch that was stuck in his back. Fortunately, Supervisor Xue was wearing armor, so the branch was blocked by the armor and didn't go in too deep, so there was no damage to his internal organs. Medicine and acupuncture were used yesterday." He paused and looked at Yin Chengyu's face carefully, "But Supervisor Xue's injuries are more serious. He only woke up briefly and then fell into a coma again. The doctor said that he can get through it on his own. If he doesn't have a fever tonight, he won't be in too much danger."

Yin Chengyu nodded and looked down at him: "But you are the one serving me?"

This made Cui Ci's heart skip a beat, and he gritted his teeth and said "yes".

When the prince told him yesterday that he must serve Xue Jianguan personally, he did not understand what he meant. But when he was cleaning Xue Jianguan's body, he understood the meaning of the prince's special instruction.

It's just that there are some things that he knows but can only pretend not to know.

Even when the master asks, it is best not to say a single word.

So after he finished answering, he lowered his head respectfully and did not say another word.

Yin Chengyu stared at him for a long time. Seeing that he was a little nervous but still calm, he nodded with satisfaction and said, "Take good care of him. You should continue to do as you did before."

He spoke very obscurely, but Cui Ci understood it.

"Don't worry, Your Highness. I will definitely fulfill your mission."

Yin Chengyu then sent his men out, but before he could catch his breath, he heard the young eunuch come to report that the Left Governor, the Vice Magistrate of Qingzhou Prefecture, and the Assistant Magistrate wanted to see him.

Previously, because of the embezzlement of disaster relief supplies, the governor of Shandong and the prefect of Qingzhou were both convicted and imprisoned. Now, before the replacement officials could be appointed, the earthquake happened again. In an emergency, the left and right provincial governors and others had to take over the duties temporarily.

The famine in Shandong had not yet been resolved, and the earth dragon turned over, causing countless casualties. At this critical juncture, the prince disappeared for three days and was in a coma for another day.

The three of them were as anxious as ants on a hot pot.

Now, upon hearing that the prince had woken up, he rushed to ask for an audience. First, to pay his respects, and second, because the disaster in Shandong needed to be reported and the prince had to make the decision.

Yin Chengyu naturally understood their purpose. After letting him sit, he didn't waste any words and asked directly about the disaster.

"Which areas have been affected? Has the number of people affected been clearly calculated?"

The Left Governor Qian Bai stood up and saluted, saying, "The center of this earthquake was in Fuhuling, Qingzhou Prefecture, with Yidu City as the center. Changle, Shouguang, Linqu and other places suffered the most serious damage. Apart from Qingzhou Prefecture, only the neighboring Jinan Prefecture suffered the disaster. About 20,000 houses collapsed in various prefectures. A rough calculation shows that the number of people affected is about 110,000 to 120,000. There is no time to calculate the details yet."

"The famine has not yet been resolved and there is an earthquake. The people are suffering. Will you open the warehouses to provide disaster relief?"

"The previously recovered disaster relief grain plus the grain borrowed from the nearby granary totaled more than 16,000 dan, and all of them have been distributed to the victims. However, this time the man-made disaster was combined with the natural disaster, and the number of victims was too large, so there is still a shortfall of half. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is still in Shandong, and we dare not report it privately..."

In the past, if an earthquake occurred, the local officials would submit a report on the disaster. After that, the Ministry of Revenue would send someone to verify the report, and the court would then allocate silver and grain for disaster relief.

But now that something went wrong during the tour, the Crown Prince was still in Shandong, and none of the remaining people had the courage to presumptuously report it.

Yin Chengyu pondered for a moment, asked someone to bring paper and pen, and wrote a memorial on the spot: "The disaster in Shandong is serious, you can provide relief first and then report. You order someone to send this memorial back to the capital by fast horse, and use the water route to transfer grain to lend to the people, and then return it after the disaster and a good harvest."

"Your Highness the Crown Prince is kind and benevolent!" Qian Bai was overjoyed when he heard this. If he could borrow the grain and food, it would really solve Shandong's urgent needs.

"In addition to disaster relief, the bodies of the deceased must be collected and buried as soon as possible, and strict precautions must be taken against epidemics and floods. The earthquake has made matters worse, and if there are further setbacks, people may have difficulty making a living."

Disasters are frequent in Shandong. Every year there is either flood or drought, which are often accompanied by famine and epidemics. This year, there was little rain and drought in the spring and summer, and locusts were rampant, so the fields were completely barren. In the autumn, however, it started to rain abnormally. If this continues, Yin Chengyu is worried that floods and epidemics will occur.

His worries were exactly what Qian Bo and the others were worried about. Now that he mentioned it, they were not in a hurry to leave. They simply took out the disaster prevention plan they had formulated and discussed it with him in detail.

Yin Chengyu had been to Shandong to deal with floods and epidemics in his early years, so he had a lot of experience in this regard. He discussed with Qian Bai and the other two for half a day and determined that there was nothing missing in the prevention and control measures. Qian Bai and the other two treasured the memorial and the roughly written disaster control regulations and left.

It was only noon when he came to his senses, but when Qian Bo and others left, it was already the end of the evening hour.

The rain outside has eased a little, but the sky is still gloomy, with thick lead clouds hanging heavily overhead. I don't know when it will clear up.

Yin Chengyu let out a tired breath, rubbed his brows, and then stood up to see Xue Shu.

Just then, a young eunuch came in with food and looked at him as he walked out and said hurriedly, "Your Highness has not had his meal yet."

"Put it aside for now. I'll eat it when I get back."

Xue Shu's tent was not far from his main tent. Yin Chengyu did not ask anyone to follow him and went over there on his own, holding an umbrella.

When I entered the tent, Ying Hongxue and He Shan were just walking out.

The two of them saw him stunned for a moment, but they quickly reacted and saluted.

Yin Chengyu had his eyes covered with a cloth yesterday and did not see Ying Hongxue. He only knew from Cui Ci that after the earthquake, Ying Hongxue and He Shan brought 5,000 Red Army soldiers to support them.

He looked at Ying Hongxue carefully, and vaguely saw a familiar shadow in the other's eyes and eyebrows, so his tone became much gentler: "I was worried that I had found the wrong person before, but now it seems that I was worrying too much. He looks a lot like you."

Ying Hongxue looked at him in surprise, thinking his attitude was a little strange, but he was the prince after all, so she lowered her head and said, "Sisters and brothers who are born from the same mother naturally look alike."

Yin Chengyu nodded and asked again: "Have you seen someone? Is Xue Shu awake?"

"He hasn't woken up yet. The doctor said it's best to let him rest. If nothing happens after tonight, he'll be fine."

"Then I'll go see him. Take care, both of you. If you need me, you can come look for me anytime." After Yin Chengyu finished speaking, he nodded slightly to the two of them and went inside.

Ying Hongxue and He Shan walked out.

"I didn't expect the prince to be so approachable," He Shan held up his oil-paper umbrella and spoke to Ying Hongxue in a low voice.

Ying Hongxue glanced at him and sneered, "Which superior doesn't pretend? Besides, we helped him anyway, so it's normal for him to be polite." She frowned slightly, thought for a while, and said, "The prince is fine now. Although he hasn't targeted the Red Army, we must be on guard. Send a message quietly and ask the brothers to disperse, just in case."

After all, she still didn't dare to completely trust the people in the court.

The two of them walked away while talking in low voices. At this time, inside the tent, Yin Chengyu dismissed the medicine boy and the young eunuch who were serving him and sat down beside the couch.

Xue Shu hasn't woken up yet.

Cui Ci cleaned the dirt off his body and even shaved off the little blue stubble that had appeared. He also properly bandaged the wounds on his body, but he looked much thinner overall.

At this moment, he was lying on the couch in a white middle-length robe, with his brows furrowed, looking even more stern than usual.

Yin Chengyu sat beside the couch for a long time, looking at him quietly.

The past came flooding back like a tide, but it no longer stirred up the depression and resentment in his heart.

All the depression and resentment are just the result of the unwillingness to admit it deep down in our hearts.

After five years of entanglement, the relationship between him and Xue Shu can no longer be explained by simple love and hate.

They are all too proud and have too many external things to consider besides their emotions.

So even though he was moved, he refused to admit it.

He and Xue Shu were like two people holding knives, with the tips of their knives pointed at each other. But neither of them could bring themselves to strike, and neither dared to put down the knife first. They were stuck in an unsolvable dilemma, torturing each other and sinking deeper and deeper.

Yin Chengyu lowered his eyes, and his fingers slowly stroked his stiff brows, then fell on his dry lips, and whispered: "If you wake up, I won't be angry anymore."

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